Business and Pleasure (11 page)

He shakes his head. “I have no
idea…who?”

“Robert WHAT’S HIS LAST NAME AGAIN?
LOL.”

“Your former CFO?”

“Yes.” I sigh. Even now, I can’t believe
this is happening.

Alex stops eating and sets his fork on the
edge of his plate, clearly upset at this sudden turn of events.
“What on Earth does he think he’s doing?”

“My question, exactly, but, of course, he’s
playing dumb and says this is all a mere coincidence. But I know
better, even if he’s managed to pull the wool over my fellow board
members’ eyes. The man’s trying to get to me, and so far, he’s
doing a damn good job.”

“This decision isn’t final, though…it’s
merely pending until there’s a vote, isn’t that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Then you have time to do more
digging. Have your IT guy get everything they can off that
computer; I’m almost certain they’ll find something on there you
can use against him, to prove the man’s nothing more than a
backstabbing, conniving liar.”

“Already on it.” I’m filled with a sense of
relief—and also a little pride—at knowing I thought to do the same
thing Alex would do, if he were faced with the same situation.

A smile spreads across his face, and I bask
in its warmth. God, he makes me feel special.

“Of course—I should have figured you’d know
what to do. More wine?”

“Please.”

Alex stands, walks to my end of the table,
and pours another glass of chardonnay for me. He then leans down
and presses a kiss very lightly to my forehead.

“I’m sorry you had a rough day. We won’t let
Bob get away with this.”

“Thank you, Alex.” I appreciate his support,
but unless we find some kind of incriminating evidence on the man’s
computer, I don’t know what Alex can do. After all, right now, it’s
only my word against Bob’s.

Alex walks back to his chair and takes a
seat.

“I have a bit of news, myself,” he tells me.
“And I wonder if the two events are somehow related. Christina quit
today.”

I choke on my shrimp.

“Elizabeth! Are you okay?” He starts to come
up out of his chair.

“Sit. I’m fine…really.” I clear my throat
and take a sip of water from one of the crystal glasses. “Sorry.
You surprised me, that’s all. What do you mean, Christina
quit?”

Alex sits back down. He picks up his fork
and resumes eating his meal. His lack of a response and blasé
attitude are beginning to wear on my patience, and I’m about to
repeat my question, when he looks up at me and shrugs.

“Just as I said…she walked into my office
this morning and tenured her resignation. I assumed it was because
of the whole deal with you, but she wouldn’t give me an answer when
I asked her why she was leaving. The only explanation she’d give me
was that she needed to pursue other opportunities.”

“Talk about a coincidence. Hard to believe
the two events aren’t related, don’t you agree?”

Alex stops eating again, and seems to
consider my question. After a bit, he shakes his head. “No. I don’t
think so. I can’t imagine why or how they would be.”

I’d like to believe he’s right, but my
instincts tell me he’s not. If I hadn’t caught Bob and Christina
talking on the phone, then maybe I’d believe this is just some
crazy coincidence, but I really think they’re in cahoots. I don’t
get it, though. What, exactly, do they hope to gain? Have I done
something inadvertently to make them both hate me enough to do harm
to me or one of my businesses? Suddenly, I’ve lost my appetite. In
fact, the smell of Joseph’s delicious meal is actually making me a
little nauseated.

“Elizabeth?”

“I’m okay. I’m just not very hungry
anymore...”

“Oh, baby…I am so sorry. I wanted to help
you forget your troubles and relax for a few hours, but I’ve done
exactly the opposite, haven’t I?”

“It’s okay.” I hurry to reassure him. The
last thing I want to do is upset Alex, especially when I can’t even
prove my suspicions. “I just don’t understand, that’s all.”

Alex gets up and comes to me again. He holds
out his hand, and I take it and allow him to help me to my
feet.

“Everything will be okay, sweetheart. I’ll
make sure of it. I want to take your worries away, at least for
tonight. Stay with me.”

“Yes.” I immediately agree. There’s no other
possible answer but yes.

*****

Alex leads me upstairs to his bedroom, and
once again, I find myself faced with overwhelming opulence. The
carpet is plush and white, just like mine, and so are the walls,
but what immediately draws my attention is the enormous, king-size
bed with black bedding located up against the far wall. The
bedframe is dark gray wood, and I’ve never seen anything like it.
The huge windows in this room are covered with black curtains, but
he has them pulled back so you can see the city. On another wall,
he has a painting of a beautiful woman with auburn hair sitting at
a vanity table. Above us, there’s another huge chandelier hanging
from the ceiling. This room is truly magnificent...so clean and so
proper. The décor fits him perfectly. Alex led me to stand before
the window, so I’m looking out on the city. He stands behind me and
slowly slips his arms around my waist.

“You deserve to have someone take care of
you, Elizabeth. You do so much. You take care of so much. You need
time to relax and have someone else do all the work for a little
bit.” He whispers in my ear and moves his hands up and down my
sides, then onto my shoulders, where he massages gently. “So
tense…we have to do something about that.”

God, this feels good. I sigh and lean my
head back, resting it on his shoulder, and he continues to touch
me. He runs his hands down my sides, then lower, gliding his palms
up and down my thighs.

“I love when you wear a skirt.”

My breathing is erratic, and I stand frozen
to the spot as he moves his hands up beneath the hem of my skirt to
grasp my panties. He slides them down my legs, until they are
puddled around my ankles on the floor.

“Lift your legs, baby.”

I do as he asks, stepping out of my
underwear,

“There we go. We’re making progress.” He
tosses them aside.

I’m lost, unable to think or speak. Every
time he touches me, my insides jump. He begins to pull my shirt up
and over my head, and only then do I react.

“Alex.” I grab his wrists, halting his
actions. “We’re standing in front of a window.”

“Sweetheart, it’s okay; no one can see you
up here. Surrender yourself to me.”

I do as he asks and release him. At this
point, I would do
anything
he asks of me. He finishes
divesting me of my shirt and drops it to the floor at my feet,
leaving me standing her in nothing but my heels, a red lace bra,
and my skirt.

“This is a very pretty bra, and it looks
very nice on you,” he says, running a finger along the lacy edging,
“but right now, I think it would look better on the floor.”

He unclasps my bra, and slides it down and
off my shoulders. His hands find my breasts before it even hits the
floor.

“You are so beautiful, Elizabeth.”

My heart is racing, and I feel faint.
There’s something sinfully erotic and slightly disconcerting about
standing half-nude before a window, even if it is impossible for
anyone to see inside. Alex must sense my discomfort, for he turns
me around, takes my hand, and begins to walk backward toward the
bed.

“I could look at you all night.”

What does he see that I do not? I’m normal,
nothing really special, and I’m sure he could walk out his door and
easily find some long-legged, blue-eyed model that’d be willing to
worship at his feet. So, why me?

“Elizabeth, how can you doubt your beauty?”
he says, once more sensing my thoughts. “You’re gorgeous.
Absolutely breathtaking. Let me show you.”

He changes direction and walks me over to
his full-length mirror, but when we’re standing there, I look
everywhere but at my reflection.

“Look. I want to show you. Please.” Standing
behind me, he puts his hands on either side of my face and turns my
head so I’m forced to look in the mirror.

Still, my gaze is not drawn to me, but to
him. He’s so close, with his face just above my shoulder, and his
warm breath tickles my ear.

“Look. See yourself as I see you. Your face
is luminous, alight with beauty. Your breasts are perfectly shaped
and full. Your flat stomach is smooth beneath my palms, and your
round ass is just begging for some attention.”

As he describes my various body parts, he
moves his hands over each. His movements in the mirror…the entire
experience…is so erotic, like something out of a movie.

“Alex,” I whisper his name, and my voice is
deep, husky, filled with passion.

“Come.” He leads me back to the bed and has
me lie face down. Eyes closed, I can feel him climb on top of me,
but he \holds his weight up off my back, his knees on either side
of me. As I lie there quietly, waiting for his next move, he
reaches over to his side table and takes something out.

“This should help you relax.”

Cool liquid runs down my spine, and I
shiver. The scent of vanilla reaches my nose, and I inhale the
intoxicating aroma. He runs his hands down my back, smearing the
oil, and then he begins to rub every inch of my back, making sure
he leaves no section of muscle unattended. He massages my
shoulders, too, and then my neck, and I lose myself in his amazing
touch I’ve never had a massage, and right now, I can’t tell you why
I haven’t made this a regular part of my life. It feels like
heaven.

“You’re so tense.” He continues rubbing oil
all over my back, circling with his thumbs, pressing hard with the
heels of his palms. Eventually, he grasps the waist of my
skirt.

“Lift up a little for me, please.”

I do as he asks, and he slips my skirt down
my legs and off, and then tosses it to the floor.

“Oh, yes. That’s what I am talking about.”
He pours the oil over each butt cheek and begins to massage them,
as well.

Oh, this feels so amazing. I lean into his
touch, wanting more.

“You like?” he asks.

“Oh, yes. More, please.”

“As you wish.”

He pours more oil, but this time, he
dribbles some down the crack of my ass, then runs his forefinger
down there, as well, following the path of the dripping oil. Oh,
Lord… I feel as if I might explode. My body begins to grow tense,
every muscle begging for release. I lift my ass to him, silently
asking for more. Alex continues running his finger up and down my
ass crack, but I need more intense stimulation. As usual, he reads
my thoughts and gives me what I need, dipping a finger inside my
anus.

Oh, sweet heaven. I tighten at the exquisite
invasion.

“Relax, sweetheart. Open for me.”

I release a long breath and make a concerted
effort to relax all my muscles. Alex slips his other hand beneath
me, and then uses his fingers to massage my clit while he
finger-fucks my ass.

“Come, Elizabeth. Come for me.”

His words have the desired effect; they work
like a catalyst to drive me right over the edge. My pussy clenches
and convulses, and as I find my release, I cry out, releasing a
long, keening wail. I grasp the sheets and twist them into my
fists. My body quivers and shakes.

“That’s it…yes!” Alex speaks into my ear,
coating my neck in his hot breath.

I shiver and gasp. “Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, my
God.”

Alex waits patiently for me to come back
down to Earth. As my breathing begins to level out, and my heart
stops racing, he gently rolls me over. I look up at him, and he
smiles down at me. Never have I seen an expression on a man’s face
so full of love, so warm with desire. I now know the meaning of the
phrase, “worships me with his gaze.” The way Alex looks at me makes
me feel beautiful.

“Time for your front.”

My eyes go wide. He can’t be serious. But as
he pours oil between my breasts and down over my stomach, I realize
he’s not finished driving me wild and treating me to the most
erotic experience of my life. He rubs the oil everywhere, over each
of my breasts, kneading them gently. He pays particular attention
to my sensitive nipples, rolling them between his thumb and finger
and tugging them gently. I writhe beneath his touch, my head thrown
back on the pillow, eyes closed. My breathing grows erratic again,
and Alex seems to sense my need for more. He caresses his way down
my stomach, and then farther, between my legs to my core. A
lubricated finger brushes over my engorged clitoris.

“Alex!” I jerk at the electric-like
contact.

“Are you ready for me?” he asks. “May I come
inside you now?”

“Yes, please!” What man asks? Alex is a
gentleman to the very end, but I need more. I need him to take me,
to be a little forceful and aggressive. “Fuck me, Alex. Now.”

“My pleasure.”

He removes his boxers and climbs between my
spread thighs. He grasps his shaft in his fist and teasing my pussy
with the head of his cock. Up and down…up and down. He slides the
head along the puffy lips of my slit. No matter how I wiggle or
squirm, or raise my hips at what I think is just the right moment,
Alex refuses to do any more than slip just the very tip of his cock
inside. He’s making me crazy, and I can’t take much more.

“Alex, please!”

No sooner did the words pass my lips than he
slams into me, thrusting hard and deep.

“Is this what you wanted?” His voice is
gruff. “Hmm? You want me to fuck you, baby? Fuck you
hard
and
deep
?”

“
Oh, yes
!”

He thrusts into me again and again. Each
time, he goes a bit deeper than before. He stretches me out so
perfectly, kissing my neck, suckling my nipples...driving me wild.
A tight heat builds at my core. I’m nearly there…riding the edge
again, ready to fall over the other side and into the abyss. Two
more thrusts and I scream as my orgasm washes over me, drowning me
in erotic sensations. Alex cries out, as well, following me into
the darkness lit by billions of dazzling, sparkling lights. We
collapse on the bed, me like a warm puddle, him on top of me, his
nose buried in my neck. Our bodies slick, sweaty, and worn out, we
succumbed to our exhaustion.